Family says Bridgewater child rapist got away with 'slap on wrist'

Monday

Jan 27, 2014 at 1:52 AMJan 27, 2014 at 9:47 AM

Mathew Langley, 17, was convicted last May of raping a young boy in Bridgewater and possession of child pornography. He is scheduled to be released next month, and the victim's family is determined that the public know about the crime.

Benjamin Paulin The Enterprise @benpaulin_ENT

BRIDGEWATER – If Andrea Howe had her way, she would never go back to Bridgewater.

The town she once called home is a source of great sadness and feelings of helplessness. She said those feelings are going to return in February when the teenager who was convicted of raping one of her family members is released from a juvenile detention facility.

Mathew Langley, 17, was convicted last May of one count of rape and abuse of a child and one count of possession of child pornography. Langley is scheduled to be released Feb. 14, Howe said.

"He (the victim) was 9-years-old. He did this to him for a year-and-a-half," Howe said.

Howe, who has since moved to another southeastern Massachusetts town, said she wants the public to know Langley is being released and what he did.

"He was a neighbor. He was welcome in our home. He ended up threatening (my family member's) life if he told anybody," Howe said.

The victim's identification is being withheld from this story.

"He (the victim) thinks that Mathew Langley has been locked up for nine months thinking of ways to kill him," Howe said.

When Langley is released, he will be classified by the state as a Level 2 sex offender. He must register every year with the police department in the town in which he is living.

A Level 2 sex offender is defined as someone for whom "the risk of re-offense is moderate and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public is such that a public-safety interest is served by public availability of registration information."

To Howe, that is not enough. "I think he should be a Level 3," she said.

A Level 3 sex offender is considered to have a "high" risk to re-offend and poses a "substantial" risk to public safety. Someone classified at Level 3 would also have their information posted in public places throughout town by police.

For Level 2 offenders, their information is only posted at the police station and in an online database.

"Everybody in the community should be aware," Howe said. "I don't think it's fair to have somebody walking around who is capable of that kind of thing and people be unsuspecting of who they have around them."

Charles McDonald, spokesman for the Sex Offender Registry, said juveniles can be classified at Level 3, but "age does play a role in determining at what level an individual is classified, especially if the offender is a juvenile."

State Rep. Angelo D'Emilia, who represents Bridgewater, said changes to the law may be necessary.

"It's something we should look at and revisit. These are serious crimes and I think the public has the right to know who's living amongst them," D'Emilia said. "There's always a concern when you have cases like this."

The attorney for Langley couldn't be reached, and Langley's father declined comment.

Bridgewater Police Chief Christopher Delmonte said members of the Sex Offender Registry Board, the state regulatory panel that classifies sex offenders, make decisions they believe are in the best interest of public safety.

"Obviously the nature of the offense is going to suggest that some kind of notification is warranted. The question is, what level of notification?" Delmonte said. "Speaking generally, a charge as serious as that and conviction begs that question."

Howe said regardless of Langley's classification she is going to post fliers wherever she is able to, including social media.

"I know my (family member) wasn't his only victim and I think if he gets out, there will be more," Howe said. "This is why I think a lot of victims don't come forward, because the process is so excruciating for the victim, for the family and they essentially get a slap on the wrist."